Help me chose a microphone

[critterkllr]

I've been researching and listening to mics so much lately that my head is spinning! I was hoping for some input from people that have actually used some of the mics that are available to DIY. Sorry for the long rant! Here's my situation:

My guitar player offered to put in $1000 towards a microphone for our upcoming album. I have no decent condenser mics, but have a couple nice ribbons and a few good dynamics. I want every single mic available! But I need to boil it down to one for this record.

The music is alternative/indie rock. Sort of a modern take on music inspired by the 70's. A few (kind of) similar influence modern bands are Kings of Leon, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Arcade Fire, The Flaming Lips, and Ryan Adams. Some of the original influential bands for us are Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Motown/Philadelphia Soul, and Tom Petty. This is a pretty big spectrum, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. We don't want to mimic these artists, but do pay some homage to them and would like a "classic"  vibe on some of the elements of the recording.

The room is a medium sized garage that is treated pretty well. Lots of bass traps, broadband absorbers, diffusers, space couplers, etc. Everything is placed strategically to get a good even sound and to eliminate room modes, but in doing so the room isn't very vibrant and doesn't have much natural reverb. The size doesn't really allow for good natural reverb anyway. I have an attic space on the farthest side of the room that is divided by space couplers that sounds pretty good. I'm guessing I'll start by trying the room mics up there. I'm not against adding reverb to the recordings to get more room sound.

Current Mics:
2 x AEA R84s
2 x EV RE20s
1 x Shure SM7b
1 x Sennheiser MD421
3 x Shure SM57s
1 x Transformerless SM57
1 x AKG D112
1 x Sennheiser e609
2 x Some junk condensers that sound like bees attacking my brain

I usually use the AEA R84s as overheads and occasionally on vocals. SM7b and Re20 also occasionally get vocal duty. I'm not blown away by any of them for our vocals. We have two lower register male singers. I also would like to find something that can cover a decent amount of ground since my mic locker is still small. So, occasional overhead, acoustic guitar, guitar/bass room mic would be helpful.

I guess my goal will be to build a mic that can do great on classic rock style vocals as well as a good room mic in a "decent" room. Needs to be under $1200 or so after all is said and done. Being able to build a stereo pair for this much would be a huge bonus.

I have my eye on the u47, u67, u87, and m49... which seem to be the most popular builds on here and doesn't help. u47 seems like it will go over my budget to do the new MK-U47 version. I'm sure any of these would be a great addition, but what to choose?

 

[critterkllr]

Thanks for your input.

It means that they're all pretty well loved and it makes it more difficult to narrow my decision down. There is no such thing as a "must have" of the bunch.

I'm looking for a best first bet for my situation.  I'll add more, but not before this session, and this session is a top priority.

 

[critterkllr]

Interesting. This is my first DIY mic build, but I've built plenty of other things. Tons of guitar pedals, a few compressors, preamps and all sorts of stuff. So, complexity isn't really an issue for me.

Regardless, I think the U67 is amazing on overheads, but doesn't quite do the same for me on vocals and room. So, if I'm being a picky bastard and having to narrow it down, maybe I'll go ahead and knock that one off the list.

I'll do some more research on the C12

 

[ruairioflaherty]

C12 for male vocal?  Not my first choice.

Critter knows the right end of the iron to grab so a 67 is certainly not beyond his skill level.  Budget maybe…

A real 67 is a killer all rounder, I'd assume Max's TLM67 conversion is as good and plan to find out.  Other capsules? I don't know.

You have two choices with mics, wait and slowly get the good stuff or buy/build a bunch of midrange stuff that never hits the mark.  I have friends who took the latter path and they have 30 mics and not a single great one.

Borrow something for the upcoming project, or sell something unused and raise the money to build a great mic with the right capsule.

 

[critterkllr]

Dammit Ruairi! I know you're right, but am having a difficult time swallowing it. What would you feel is the good stuff? Any of it in the DIY arena?

 

[ruairioflaherty]

DMP,

A C12 or 24 with the right capsule is a wonderful thing, but I know Critter likes dark overheads and for male box a C12 is not a great choice (my experience is with the real thing, not DIY).

I've looked closely at Max's TLM 67 conversion kit and I think it's the real deal, my brother who used my 67 for years on a daily basis has a Max 67 conversion and loves it.  I'm on a test gear binge in anticipation of an upcoming build season  and new bench but I plan to do the 67 kit and compare to my real 67, which I need to sell soon.

 

[PRR]

Use your ears.

Throwing money at music-tech does NOT assure good music.

I have often done great recordings with "lesser" mikes in venues where folks with "fabulous" mikes got disappointing results. One time, a guy who had contracted to do a "great recording" with very expensive mikes got such gibberish that he came to me for a dub of what I had recorded, for salary, on $2 capsules.

I think your studio is too small for real good sound, but I know much Motown/Philly stuff was cut in rooms this size.

 

[critterkllr]

You're absolutely right PRR. I'm not the type that likes to base my decisions on other people's tastes or gear choices. The problem is that reliable comparisons between DIY microphones are pretty limited. I always get to the point of wanting to try one, then end up backing out to put the money elsewhere.

As far as my room, I have a couple tracks that I may track in a larger live room, but many songs call for a tighter 70's drum sound. My room is 23' x 16' with a vaulted ceiling of around 12.5'. It's a pretty drastically different sounding room than the live room at Hitsville.

I'd be looking for some added presence and glue from room mics in mine. I tend to mimic a room mic in my recordings by sending to a sub bus with convolution reverb, an eq and a comp. It helps, but isn't "it".

 

[Bassniac]

I build a Poctop D-U67 and love it. I used a Beesneez capsule and the cheaper transformer from AMI. I get compliments for my vocal sound from everywhere!!! The build costs are right in you ballpark.
It really developes it's full magic after you find out how sweet the backside of the mike in Figure of 8 sounds! Smooth and big! I run it through a 1073 clone into a P2P Pultec into a JLMLA500 and then an 1176 with almost no compression happening.

Cheers.

 

[okgb]

For better or worse the U87  is probably a mic you have heard more times than you know
a kind of standard the way  NS 10's "  were " a standard.

 

[Rossi]

I hate to be the party pooper, but for the sake of the overall result, it may be a better idea to buy or rent a couple of reliable mics. Whenever you build something, it sucks your attention. Does the mic sound good, does it have technical problems like noise or distortion - those become things you feel immediately responsible for. Because you are.

Building mics is nice, if you have lots of time to wait for components, solder and test carefully etc. But when you're committed to a project, what if something goes wrong? For serious recording, I prefer to use stuff I don't have to worry about. Not only because a technical issue might screw up an otherwise perfect take, but also  because my attention gets drawn away from what's most important: the music.

So my advice would be to only go DIY if you have plenty of time to do your testing before your album project so your DIY mic becomes as second nature as anything else you're using.